An honest review (updated)

Adorkable · #1 05-29-2008, 12:25 PM

Service: Baby (linux, shared)
Purchased: 13 months
Duration: 14 days
Rating: 3/5

The Good:
I haven't experienced any downtime (that I know of).
cPanel X has been an invaluable tool.
My website loads at good speeds.

The Bad:
The quality of Customer Service is declining.
I first recieved correct responses in 6 minutes (OHD-2649753), 11 minutes (JIP-2649765), 7 minutes (PBJ-2652134), and 4 minutes (JJR-2652417).
Then, I received an incorrect response in 4.5 hours (KCB-2673651).
Followed by a 6 hour response to something I requested before sign-up (QBN-2685013).
This is all much better than my previous host.
However, when you go from $20/yr to $119/yr, you expect some sort of increase in quality.

Overall:
Despite the Support Team disappointments,
I have had a satisfactory experience with HostGator.
I feel it is the best web hosting option for me.

***GatorChrisN*** · #2 05-29-2008, 06:00 PM

Thank you for the feedback! You will come to realize that the service will be back at the level you expect very soon. We had an abnormally large amount of support tickets/chats over the last week that has put our response time at the longest it's been in a while. We are on our way back to the quick responses soon. We really appreciate your business and I do apologize for the delays as of late.

Thanks again,

Adorkable · #3 05-29-2008, 10:01 PM

I have settled in for another substantial wait (DEO-2687414).

I do hope HostGator is able to recover from this overload soon.
As well as handle similar situations better in the future.

***GatorPatrick*** · #4 05-30-2008, 01:33 AM

I would also like to point out that our response times even at 4 hours are some of the fastest in the industry. Many hosts (that I've used) will have their users waiting days in many cases. I see your question was answered and thank you for your patience with us.

Adorkable · #5 05-30-2008, 02:35 AM

HostGator is my first major/large web hosting firm.

My experience has been with 2 small companies.
They rarely took more than a couple hours to address an issue.
(But, proved unreliable in such areas as "uptime".)

I have admitted that HostGator is the best web hosting option for me.

Still,
7 minutes to 4.5 hours is quite the decline in service.

Adorkable · #6 06-18-2008, 06:17 PM

Service: Baby (linux, shared)
Purchased: 13 months
Duration: 5 weeks
Rating: 3/5

The Good:
I have experienced little downtime.
My websites load at fast speeds.
The Peer Support Forums are, well, supportive.

The Bad:
A mandatory search portal (Information.com) is put on "https" access to all hosted domains without notifying customers in any way. Purchasing a dedicated IP will remove it from your primary domain. It can not be removed from add-on domains.

Changing your primary domain is a hassle. In addition to a $5.00 charge, you have to remove just about everything in your account. Then, wait 24 hours for the switch to take effect.

As other reviews echo, the Support Team is nothing to applaud. Since my last review, response times have ranged from 4 minutes (LJR-2688442) to 2 hours (NAR-2693867). Yes, I am quickly told they can not solve the issue, or even point me in the right direction. It's not a good look when Google.com is more helpful than your Support Team.

Overall:
HostGator (HG) does well in the 3 areas that matter most to me: disk space, bandwidth, and uptime. These outshine the shadow HG's faults cast upon my experience. I only recommend it to self-sufficient users interested in shared hosting.

Read An Honest Review I

***GatorBrent*** · #7 06-26-2008, 06:01 PM

We've merged your two reviews to the frontpage so it's easier for everyone to view them both. Thanks!

Adorkable · #8 09-17-2008, 07:30 AM

Service: Baby (linux, shared)
Purchased: 13 months
Duration: 5 months
Rating: 3/5

The Good:
I still haven't experienced any noticeable downtime
They actively combat fraud and spam
Websites are still loading quickly

The Bad:
Although, I hadn't made a dent in disk space or bandwidth
Inode limitations forced me to find other hosting for one of my domains

And, all my previous grievances are still present
Feel free to scroll up, and view them.

Overall: In the shadow of The Bad, I experimented with other major hosts. And came to one conclusion: Hostgator is the best large hosting company on the market.

***GatorDHanna*** · #9 09-17-2008, 04:36 PM

Hi there,

Thank you for your continued reviews. I'm sorry to hear that you're disappointed with our quality of service and would like to help you with that. Are there any specific issues that I can help you to address or resolve? I'd be more than happy to take a look at them and see what I can do.